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Talk to me about Kitchen Aid Mixers
My hand held mixer broke so in my mind that means I should buy a KA mixer. I might be willing to buy off of craigslist too. I don't bake too much but would like to do more baking. Which one is the starter one? Just a 4.5 quart? Target has them on sale for 199. That's a pretty standard price right? The artisan are an upgraded one right?
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Re: Talk to me about Kitchen Aid Mixers
The Blog
I actually like both my KA stand mixer and my hand held. Both are good for different things.
I think the KA Artisan series is the standard. The upgraded one is the professional, which is great if you do a lot of meat grinding or bread baking. I have an Artisan and it does just about everything I need - bread kneading, cookie, cake batter mixing, etc. I primarily use it for bread because I hate kneading. Everything else could definitely be done with a hand mixer.
The attachments are handy. We've tried the ice cream maker and the meat grinder. It's fun to be able to do stuff like that, but we don't use them all that much.ETA: My bad. The standard is slightly lower wattage and a slightly smaller bowl. The wattage really only matters if you're going to do a lot of heavy dough kneading or hooking up attachments. I have more than enough room in my 5 qt bowl, so I think you'd be fine with a 4.5 qt.
lol- it is a pain to haul out, that's for sure. We actually keep ours on the counter b/c I use it for making doughs (pizza, bread, anything sweet) and also to shred chicken. It's just tucked into a corner so that I can pull it out when I need it.
I agree w/ bobcat, if you are not doing any heavy doughs, I would stick w/ a hand mixer.
Ditto this, except that I had it before we got married. I've had it about 7 years and used it maybe 5 times? It's too big to live on the counter, so I keep it on top of the fridge. It's so heavy (I have the commercial one) and a pain to get down that I ALWAYS reach for my hand mixer first. But I'm kind of lazy and rarely bake, so other people may use theirs more.
I have used just the bowl more than that, when all of my other mixing bowls are dirty. But that's one expensive bowl!
"There is a fine line between a princess and a witch...thinking you're one does NOT give you the right to act like the other." my grandmother
WHOA WHOA WHOA... it has a MEAT GRINDER? As in, could I potentially get some sirloin and grind up some beef? Or is it more like, shredding the chicken type thing like MC mentioned?
I use our KA for everything. I love it more than words can describe. I'm even so lazy that I mash our potatoes in it.
I should note that I don't own a hand held mixer and have been told I should buy one.
But is it PINK???? This is what I really want to know.
I do kinda want the meat grinder and pasta attachments.....then I might be tempted to use it more. If I can convice DH to buy me a house with enough counter space, that is.
"There is a fine line between a princess and a witch...thinking you're one does NOT give you the right to act like the other." my grandmother
Yep. With the grinder attachment, you can grind any kind of meat. We've done brisket and sirloin. All the attachments are sold separately.
Mine is on the counter..and it looks great..I guess it's just a pain to have to clean all the parts..I don't make dough, and I use two forks to shred chicken.
The Blog
You'll never get enough counter space in those cookie cutter homes
It is not pink...and it should be. An ex boyfriend bought it for me...clearly he didn't know me at all. White KA mixer was the breaking point of our relationship.
We keep ours on the counter, pushed in a corner. We do make a lot of doughs (gluten free - they taste better than store bought GF.) I always wanted the pasta attachment.
I got mine as a graduation gift in 1998. In my old age now, I use it at least weekly. Especially since GF mixes often include incorporating softened butter for 2-3 minutes. Who has time to sit around with a hand mixer and do that
?? I need to get me one of them scraping AND mixing attachments.
I got one for one of our anniversaries and I've used it at least weekly if not more often since. (baring being pregnant or with a new born) Husband uses it too to make things. We don't have hand beaters anymore though, I keep meaning to pick some up.
I have to uber fancy Pro one in gunmetal. It's the most beautiful machine ever! I wouldn't rec one that big though unless you're really going to use it a lot and make large batches of things. It's a bit big to whip just a little cream for example.
I'd get the mid size one, it'll have enough horse power and be big enough to make sturdy doughs and double batches of stuff.
Yep, I need a new *old* house, for sure.
And same here....mine's red (from an ex), when I specifically asked for the silver one. Not the reason we broke up, but it was definitely on the list of reasons.
"There is a fine line between a princess and a witch...thinking you're one does NOT give you the right to act like the other." my grandmother
You know I use mine daily for cakes, buttercream and making fondant!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the meat grinder. We have hunters in our family and make our own sausage with the meat grinder.
My husband uses it to make homemade bagels.
Get one!!
I never use my hand mixers. When I wasn't using my KA mixer much, it was up in the cupboard. However, I've been baking more, and when I bake I definitely make my own icing. So it's gotten use there.
And then recently I discovered the chicken shredding trick. I've done it with plain chicken for soup but also did it with KA's chicken taco chicken and threw in some creme and shredded cheese. Voila! Easy insides for enchiladas.
I've done mashed potatoes in it too. You can also get an additional bowl to make ice cream.